The Chymical Wedding by Christian Rebisse, FRC
The Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreuz, a book that is considered to be the third Rosicrucian manifesto, made its appearance in 1616. It was printed in Strasbourg by Lazarus Zetzner, the publisher of Theatrum chemicum and numerous other alchemical treatises. This work differs considerably from the first two manifestos [Fama Fraternitatis and Confessio Fraternitatis]. First of all, although it was likewise published anonymously, it is known that Johann Valentin Andreae was the author. Secondly, it is unusual in form in that it is presented as an alchemical novel and as an autobiography of Christian Rosenkreuz.
Despite the important development of science during this period, alchemy remained a potent force. It contributed by enriching the thoughts of researchers, prompting Frank Greiner to state: “The invention of the modern world did not arise essentially from the triumph of machinery, but also found some of its ferment in the alembics of goldmakers and extractors of the quintessence.”1
In the seventeenth century alchemy broadened its perspectives. It claimed to be a unifying science that included medical applications and developed a more spiritual dimension. It also sought to become part of the thinking on the history of Creation, of the tragic cosmogony which brought about not only the fall of humanity, but nature as well. Thus, the alchemist was not only a physician who helped humanity to regenerate itself so as to be reborn to its spiritual condition, but the alchemist was also nature’s physician. As Saint Paul pointed out, Creation is in exile and suffering, and it is awaiting its liberation by humanity.2 Gerhard Dorn, a follower of Paracelsus, was an individual who was typical of this evolution.3 And it was in this set of circumstances, so rich in published works, that the Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreuz took its place.
Johann Valentin Andreae
The author of this manifesto, Johann Valentin Andreae (1586-1654), came from an illustrious family of theologians. His grandfather, Jakob Andreae, was one of the authors of the Formula of Concord, an important document in the history of Lutheranism. In recognition of his meritorious services, the Count Palatine Otto Heinrich granted him a coat of arms. Jakob’s design incorporated the cross of St. Andrew, in reference to his family name, with four roses, in deference to Martin Luther, whose armorial bearings depicted a rose. The emblem of Luther may be described thus: in the center is a black cross, bringing to mind mortification and recalling that faith in the crucified Christ leads to redemption. This cross reposes in the center of a red heart, the symbol of life.
The latter is placed on a white rose, the sign of joy and peace. The whole is sur- rounded by a golden ring symbolizing eternal life. It is possible that this emblem was inspired by the writings of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, which were deeply appreciated by Luther. In- deed, in his sermons on the Song of Songs, Saint Bernard often used the image of the cross united with a flower when describing the marriage of the soul with God.
From childhood, Johann Valentin Andreae was brought up surrounded by alchemy. His father, a pastor in Tubingen [Germany], owned a laboratory, and his cousin, Christophe Welling, was also an enthusiastic follower of this science. Young Johann Valentin followed in his father’s footsteps in theological studies. He was a friend of the theologian Johann Arndt, who considered him to be his spiritual son and greatly influenced the youth. Arndt was part of the tradition of Valentin Weigel, a tradition which tried to achieve a synthesis between Rheno-Flemish mysticism, Renaissance Hermeticism, and Paracelsian alchemy. Johann Valentin was also the friend of Tobias Hess, a theologian who pursued Paracelsian medicine and naometry. Devoting himself to this science of “measuring the temple” while at Tubingen, young Andreae assisted his teacher and protector, the theologian Matthias Hafenreffer, by drawing the il- lustrations for a study on the Temple of Ezekiel. The youth- ful scholar was like- wise intrigued by the mediating role of symbols in the spiritual experience.
In this regard he shared the preoccupations of his teacher Jo- hann Arndt, who was noted for his mysticism and who was considered to be one of the precursors of pietism.
The author of the Chymical Wedding considered the theater to be a worthwhile means for inducing his contemporaries to ponder serious matters, and some of his works were influenced by the commedia dell’arte. This is true in the case of Turbo, a play in which Harlequin made his first appearance on the German stage. This play, published in the same year as the Chymical Wedding, makes reference to alchemy. This important work would later serve as the model for Goethe’s Faust. However, although the author’s learning in the Hermetic art is readily apparent,4 his view of alchemists is also ironic. Generally speaking, whether in theology or science, what interested Andreae was useful knowledge and not vain speculation. For instance, he and his friend John Amos Comenius helped to revive pedagogy in the seventeenth century. In 1614, he was named suffragen pastor of Vaihingen. Later he became the superintendent in Calw, and then the preacher and counselor at the consistory of Stuttgart. After having held various offices, he ended his career as the abbot of Adelberg, a town where he died in 1654.5
Johann Valentin Andreae left an impressive body of work.6 It was in 1602-1603, when he was not yet seventeen years old, that he made his first attempts as an author. He wrote two comedies about Esther and Hyacinth, as well as the first version of the Chymical Wedding. The protagonist of this novel already went by the name of Christian Rosenkreuz – although this name may only have been added at its publication in 1616. As the manuscript for the first version of this text has disappeared, it is difficult for us to know. However, what we can say for certain is that the symbols of the rose and cross rarely crop up in the novel. We also know that Andreae revamped the text for the 1616 edition. It is intriguing to note that the Chymical Wedding was issued in the same year and by the same publisher as Theca gladii spiritus (The Sheath of the Glory of the Spirit). This book repeated twenty-eight passages from the Confessio Fraternitatis. However, the name of Christian Cosmoxene was substituted for that of Christian Rosenkreuz, and the author did not seem to adhere to all the concepts presented in the first Rosicrucian texts. It is worth recalling that in the year in which the Fama Fraternitatis was written, Andreae proposed the creation of a Societas Christiana, a group which, in some respects, resembled the project formulated in the manifestos. Throughout his life, he was constantly creating societies of learning, such as the Tubingen Circle, or organizations of a social character, such as the Foundation of Dyers, which is still in existence today.
The Story
The third Rosicrucian manifesto differs considerably from the two preceding ones. Briefly, here is the story. Christian Rosenkreuz, an elderly man who is eighty-one years old, describes his adventures over a seven-day period in 1459. After being summoned to a royal wedding by a winged messenger, Christian leaves his retreat, situated on a mountain slope. After various incidents, he arrives at the summit of a high mountain, and then passes through a succession of three gates. Once within, he and the other people who have been invited are put to a test in which they are weighed on scales. If they are judged virtuous enough, they are allowed to attend the wedding. The select few receive a Golden Fleece 7 and are presented to the royal family.
After being brought before the royal family, Christian Rosenkreuz describes the presentation of a play. This is followed by a banquet, after which the royal family is decapitated. The coffins containing the corpses are loaded onto seven ships bound for a distant island. Arriving at their destination, they are placed in the Tower of Olympus, a curious seven-story edifice.
For the remainder of the narrative we witness the strange ascent of the guests through the seven stories of the tower. At each level, under the direction of a maiden and an old man, they participate in alchemical operations. They carry out a distillation of the royal skins from which a liquid is obtained that is afterwards transformed into a white egg. From this a bird is hatched that is fattened before being decapitated and reduced to ashes. From the residue, the guests fabricate two human-shaped figurines. These homunculi are fed until they become the size of adults. A final operation communicates to them the spark of life. The two homunculi are none other than the king and the queen who have been restored to life. Shortly afterwards, they welcome their guests into the Order of the Golden Stone, and all return to the castle. However, Christian Rosenkreuz, at the time of his first day in the castle, committed the indiscretion of entering the mausoleum where the sleeping Venus reposes. His inquisitiveness condemns him to become the guardian of the castle. The sentence does not seem to be executed, because the narrative suddenly ends with the return of Christian Rosenkreuz to his cottage. The author leaves us to understand that the hermit, who is eighty-one years old, does not have many more years to live. This last statement seems to contradict the Fama Ftaternitatis, which claimed that Christian Rosenkreuz lived to the venerable age of 106. Moreover, other aspects of the narrative depict a Christian Rosenkreuz who is quite at odds with the one presented in the earlier manifestos.
A Baroque Opera
As Bernard Gorceix has remarked, Andreae’s work bears the imprint of seventeenth century culture, that of the Baroque, where allegory, fable, and symbol occupy a preeminent place. According to Gorceix, this novel is a significant historical and literary work. It is, in fact, one of the best examples of the emergence of the Baroque in the seventeenth century. The taste for the marvelous and the primacy of ornamentation are quite apparent.8
The castle where the wedding takes place is sumptuous, and its gardens reflect the era’s interest in parks adorned with fountains and automatons.9 They serve to embellish many scenes in the story – most memorably that of the judgment in which the guests, one by one, put themselves in a balance that weighs their virtue. The author also has us witness strange processions of veiled maidens who are barely perturbed by the arrows shot by a rather undisciplined Cupid. Moreover, we encounter such fabulous animals as unicorns, lions, griffins, and the phoenix.
The costumes of the various characters are luxurious, and during the narrative some of them change from black to white and to red, ac- cording to the stage of alchemical transmutation in progress. Various feasts and banquets, served by invisible valets, punctuate the narrative. Music, often played by invisible musicians, accompanies the narration. Trumpets and kettledrums mark the changes in scenery or the entrance of characters. The text is sprinkled with po- ems, and the general plot is interrupted by a play. Nor is humor absent from this alchemical treatise. It manifests at often unexpected moments, as for example in the episode of the judgment (third day), which gives rise to several broad jokes. At the moment when the transmutation is virtually achieved (sixth day), the director of the operations tricks the guests into believing that they are not going to be invited to the final phase of the work. After seeing the effects of the joke, its perpetrator laughs so hard that “his belly was ready to burst.” The narrative involves hidden inscriptions and a riddle in ciphers which Leibniz tried to fathom. As can be seen, we are face to face with a literary work of great opulence, and in a style very different from that of the Fama Fraternitatis and Confessio Fraternitatis.
Inner Alchemy
In 1617, the year following the publication of the Chymical Wedding, the alchemist Ratichius Brotoffer published Elucidarius Major, a book in which he tried to establish the correlations between the seven days of the Chymical Wedding and the stages of alchemical work. He acknowledged, however, that Andreae’s text is obscure. In more recent years, other authors, such as Richard Kienast (1926) or Will-Erich Peuchkert (1928), did their best to decipher the mysteries of this text. More recently, Bernard Gorceix, Serge Hutin, and Roland Edighoffer in particular analyzed this work judiciously.10 The text of the Chymical Wedding barely resembles the works of the alchemical corpus. It is not at all a technical treatise, and its object is not to describe the operations in a laboratory. And we should note in passing that the story does not involve developing the Philosopher’s Stone, but of producing a couple of homunculi. In regards to the seven days described in the tale, it is essentially at the beginning of the fourth day that alchemical symbology occupies center stage.
Paul Arnold tried to show that the Chymical Wedding was simply an adaptation of Canto X of The Faerie Queene by Edmund Spenser (1594), which describes the Red Cross Knight. Yet his argument is hardly convincing. For his part, Roland Edighoffer showed that Andreae’s story bears a striking resemblance to Clavis totius philosophiae chimisticae,” 11 a work by Gerhard Dorn, a follower of Paracelsus. This book was published in 1567, and then included in the first volume of Theatrum chemicum, published by Lazarus Zetzner in 1602.12 In this text, Dorn indicates that the purification carried out on matter by the alchemist should also be accomplished on people. His book presents three characters who typify the different parts of human beings: body, soul, and spirit. While at a crossroads, the three have a discussion regarding what route they should follow so as to reach three castles situated on a mountain. The first of these castles is made of crystal, the second of silver, and the third of diamond. After several adventures and a purification at the Fountain of Love, these characters attain the seven stages which mark the process of the inner regeneration of being. There is a striking resemblance between the basic plot of this story and that of the Chymical Wedding.
The Spiritual Wedding
In the epigraph to his book, Andreae indicates that “the mysteries are demeaned when revealed and lose their power when profaned.” Indeed, the initiatic mysteries lose their virtue when they merely pass through the filter of the intellect. Under
these circumstances, how can we analyze the work that interests us here without stripping it of its virtues? We do not make the claim that we can reveal all of the arcana, but we feel that three important themes presented in Andreae’s initiatic novel need to be emphasized: the wedding, the mountain of revelation, and the seven stages of the work.
The sacred wedding, the hierogamy, occupies an important place in the ancient mysteries. In Christianity, with Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153), this subject was elaborated upon in his commentaries on the Song of Songs. In his treatise On the Love of God, he described the journey of the soul towards the higher spheres, with the final stage being that of the spiritual marriage. This symbolic system was developed in greater detail by the Rheno-Flemish mystics, notably with the Beguines and Jan van Ruysbroeck, author of The Adornment of the Spiritual Marriage (1335). Among numerous other authors, such as Valentin Weigel, the theme of the spiritual marriage is associated with that of regeneration and rebirth. Among the latter, alchemical symbolism is added to that of Christianity.
The royal wedding generally occupies an important place in alchemy, and psychologist Carl Jung showed that it was particularly well suited for describing the phases of the process of individuation. The wedding of the king and the queen represent the union of the two polarities of being, the animus and the anima, leading to the discovery of Self. Jung set forth his research in many books, of which the most representative is Psychology and Alchemy (1944). However, it was in Mysterium Coniunctidnis, An Inquiry into the Separation and Synthesis of Psychic Opposites in Alchemy (1955-56), that Jung’s investigations are thought to have reached their greatest development. In this work, the Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreuz is a key element in his thinking. Contrary to what the title suggests, Andreae’s narrative does not speak of a wedding. The marriage ceremony is not described in the novel, but rather its action revolves around the resurrection of a king and a queen. As with Saint Bernard and the mystics of previous eras, it is the wedding of being, understood as a regeneration that Andreae refers to in his book.
The Castle of the Soul
The wedding location is on a mountain. In traditional symbology, this place, the point where the earth and sky touch, is the abode of the deities and of revelation. As has been so well demonstrated by Marie-Madeleine Davy in La Montagne et sa symbolique (The Mountain and its Symbolism),13 when a person determines to climb the mountain, he or she sets out on the quest for self and embarks on the ascent toward the absolute. The invitation brought to Christian Rosenkreuz indicates that he must reach the summit of a mountain crowned by three temples. However, in the following episode of the narrative, castles are mentioned instead.
Christian Rosenkreuz passes through two portals and arrives at the castle where preparations for the great transmutation are taking place. Then, it is in a third place, in a tower situated on an island, that the Great Work is accomplished. We find here the theme of the castle of the soul spoken of by Meister Eckhart (1260-1328) and Theresa of Avila (1515-1582). For them, the quest of the soul is often presented as the conquest of a castle. Alchemical texts combine the two elements in describing a castle on a mountain. We previously observed that Gerhard Dorn spoke of three castles on a high mountain. Whether mountain, castle, temple, or tower, all of these symbolic elements in our narrative are meant to conjure up the notion of a journey and an ascent.
Yet the temple or castle situated on a high mountain also has an eschatological aspect by recalling the temple to come which Ezekiel spoke of in his visions. After the destruction of the temple and the city of Jerusalem, the Jews were de- ported to Babylon, and it is then that Ezekiel prophesied the vision of the future temple. He drew a parallel between the exile of the Jews and the expulsion of humanity from Paradise. This destruction of the temple brought about the retreat of God from Creation, God then becoming the only “place” where humans could worship. However, Ezekiel announced the establishment of a new temple, a third, which would coincide with the restoration of Creation. The prophet described this as being situated on a “high mountain,” and he declared that the archetype of this temple existed previously in the superterrestrial world. This vision greatly influenced the Essenes and was the source of all apocalyptic literature.14 We are reminded of the importance of the vision of Ezekiel’s temple in Simon Studion’s Naometria, and, as previously mentioned, we know that Andreae also had the opportunity to work on this subject with Matthias Hafen- reffer (see above, “Johann Valentin Andreae”). Moreover, as Roland Edighoffer has shown, the Chymical Wedding includes many eschatological aspects. It is surprising to note that we will soon encounter this idea of an eschatological temple with Robert Fludd. For him, the mountain on which the temple is erected is none other than that of initiation.
The Seven Stages
In the Chymical Wedding, the number seven plays a fundamental role. The action unfolds over seven days; seven virgins, seven weights, seven ships are described; and the final transmutation takes place in an athanor which sits enthroned in a seven- story tower. Although this may not always be the case, alchemists generally divide the process of the elaboration of the Great Work into seven phases. Gerhard Dorn talks about the seven degrees of the work. Here we encounter a fundamental theme which is far from being unique to alchemy. As Professor Ioan P. Couliano has shown, the theory which states that the process of the elevation of the soul encompasses seven stages is found in numerous traditions.15 His researches indicate that according to a Greek tradition also found in Dante, Marsilio Ficino, and Pico della Mirandola, these ascents toward ecstasy are accomplished through the seven planetary spheres. Couliano also noted another form of ascent following a tradition dating back to Babylonia, and which later passed into Jewish and Judeo-Christian apocalyptic literature, as well as Islam. Without making reference to the planets, it also speaks of seven stages to spiritual ecstasy.
This element is also found in Hermeticism. The Poemandres, the first treatise of the Corpus Hermeticum, after having touched upon the cosmogony and the fall of humanity, speaks of the seven stages of the soul’s ascent through the framework of the spheres. It describes the seven zones that the soul, after the dissolution of the material body, must pass through so as to purge the self of its defects and illusion before ascending toward the Father.16 It is interesting to note that the tenth treatise, which provides a summary of the Hermetic teachings, reconsiders the ascent toward the Divine by defining it as the “ascent toward Olympus.” Is it not striking that, in the Chymical Wedding, the tower where the seven alchemical phases are accomplished is appropriately called the Tower of Olympus?
The Seven Days of the Wedding
1st Day, Preparation for the Departure:
The heavenly invitation – The prisoners of the tower – The departure of Christian Rosenkreuz for the wedding.
2nd Day, Journey to the Castle:
The crossroads of the four paths – The arrival at the castle and the passage through the three gates – The banquet at the castle – The dream.
3rd Day, The Judgment:
The judgment of the unworthy guests – The bestowal of the Golden Fleece on the chosen – The execution of judgment – The visit to the castle – The weighing ceremony.
4th Day, The Blood Wedding:
The fountain of Hermes – The bestowal of a second Golden Fleece – Presentation to the six royal personages – The theatrical presentation – The execution of the royal family – The departure of the coffins on seven ships.
5th Day, The Sea Voyage:
The mausoleum of Venus – The false interment of the royal personages – The sea voyage – The arrival on the island – The seven-story tower – The laboratory.
6th Day, The Seven Phases of Resurrection:
The drawing of lots – The ceremony around the fountain and cauldron – The suspended globe – The white egg – The birth of the bird – The decapitation and incineration of the bird – The circular furnace – The fabrication of two figurines from ashes – The spark of life – The awakening of the royal couple.
7th Day, The Return of Christian Rosenkreuz:
The Knights of the Golden Stone – The return by ship – The punishment inflicted on Christian Rosenkreuz – His return home after his pardon.
This septenary concept is also found in the Christian tradition, notably with Saint Bernard, who was highly admired by Andreae. The dream recounted on the first day of the Chymical Wedding derives its theme from Saint Bernard’s sermon for the fifth Sunday after Pentecost. In this dream, Christian Rosenkreuz is locked away in a tower in the company of other people. Moreover, the tools which the wedding guests receive for going from one floor to another in the Tower of Olympus (sixth day) – a rope, ladder, or wings are taken from the symbology of Saint Bernard.
We find reference to the seven stages of the inner life among two individuals praised by Andreae. The first, Stephan Praetorius, the pastor of Salzwedel, speaks of “justificatio, santificatio, contemplatio, applicatio, devotio, continentia, beneficienta.” The second person is Philip Nicolai (1556-1608), a pioneer of the “new piety,” who, when speaking of the mystic wedding, describes the seven phases which mark the regenera- tion of the soul (The Mirror of the Joys of Eternal Life, 1599).
Knight of the Golden Stone
At the end of the seventh day of the Chymical Wedding, Christian Rosenkreuz is dubbed “Knight of the Golden Stone.” This title gives him mastery over ignorance, poverty, and illness. Each knight takes an oath in promising to dedicate the Order to God and his servant, Nature. In effect, as Johann Valentin Andreae indicates, “Art serves Nature” and the alchemist participates as much to his own restoration as that of nature. In a register, Christian Rosenkreuz inscribed these words: “The highest knowledge is that we know nothing.” This phrase refers to the “learned ignorance” preached by Nicholas of Cusa (1404-1464). The latter, part of a tradition including Proclus, Dionysius the Areopagite, and Eckhart, opposed rationalistic logic. “Learned ignorance” does not consist of, as often thought, the rejection of knowledge, but the recognition that the world, being infinite, cannot be the object of complete knowledge. Nicholas of Cusa advocated a gnosis, an illuminating knowledge, one capable of surpassing the world of appearances by understanding the coincidence of opposites.
In conclusion, the Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreuz is an initiatic narrative, that of a person’s quest on the way to the marriage with one’s soul. This ascent of the soul is part of a process encompassing both humanity and nature. When reading the book, we are struck by the richness of the language which testifies to the erudition of its author. Indeed, it would take an entire volume to point out all of the references to mythology, literature, theology, and esotericism. We have only made a brief sketch here of this marvelous story. Rather than explain its various meanings, our primary aim has been to motivate you to read or reread this work that is fundamental to the Rosicrucian tradition and occupies a prominent place in the history of European literature.
End Notes
1. Aspects de la tradition alchimique au XVIIe siecle, acts of the international conference of the university of Reims-Champagne-Ardennes on 28-29 November 1996, under the direction of Frank Greiner, Chrysopoeia (Paris: Arch 1998) p. 11.
2. Romans 8:19-22.
3. Bernard Gorceix, Alchimie (Paris: Fayard, 1980).
4. We find here numerous references to Lexicon Alchemiae by Martin Rulland (1612). English edition: A Lexicon of Alchemy, by Martin Ruland the Elder. A. E. Waite, translator (London: J. M. Watkins, 1964).
5. Roland Edighoffer, Rose-Croix et societe ideale selson Johann Valentin Andreae, vols. I and II (Paris: Arma Artis, 1982 and 1987).
6. Edighoffer, Rose-Croix et societe ideale. . ., ibid., vol II., brings together his entire bibliography: books, translations, editions, correspondence, and manuscripts, pp. 761-781.
7. The Golden Fleece is a symbol which designated the Great Work. A fascinating work regarding this sub- ject was written by Antoine Faivre, Toison d’or et Alchimie (Paris: Arche 1990). English edition: The Golden Fleece and Alchemy (Albany NY: State University of New York Press, 1993).
8. Bernard Gorceix, La Bible des Rose-Croix, introduction (Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1970) pp. XXXVIII.
9. Regarding this subject, see the work of Salomon de Caus, Hortus Palatinus (1620) and in particular the reissue of Le Jardin Palatin (Paris: Éd. du Moniteur,
1990), with a postscript by Michel Conan which places S. de Caus in the Rosicrucian movement of Heidelberg.
10. We will not mention here the rather fanciful commentaries of numerous other authors.
11. Roland Edighoffer, Les Rose-Croix et la crise de conscience europeenne au XVIIe siecle (Paris: Dervy, 1999) pp. 282-302.
12. See Marie-Louise von Franz, who, in Alchimie et imagination active (La Fontaine de Pierre, 1978) provides numerous excerpts of this text. English edition: Al- chemical Active Imagination. Rev. ed. (Boston Shambhala, 1997).
13. Paris: Albin Michel, 1996.
14. This idea was developed by Shozo Fujita, The Temple Theology of the Qumran Sect and the Book of Ezekiel: Their Relationship to Jewish Literature of the Last Two Centuries B.C. (Ann Arbor: UMI, Bell & Howell, 1970). (Princeton Thesis, 1970). Henry Cordin summarized it in a chapter of his book Temple et Contemplation (Paris: Flammarion, 1980) pp. 307-422. English edition: Temple and Contemplation. Philip Sherrard and Liadain Sherrard, translators (London: KPI in association with Islamic Publications, 1986).
15. See his book (Experience de l’extase (Paris: Payot, 1984), with a preface by Mircea Eliade.
16. See Hermes Trismegiste, I, Poimandres (Paris: Belles Lettres, 1991) pp. 15-16. English edition: Hermetica: The Greek Cor pus Hermeticum and the Latin Ascelpius in a new English translation, with notes and introduc- tion by Brian P. Copenhaver (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995).
From : Rosicrucian Digest No. 1 2016
